Junior Coral Reef Ambassador

28 Pages·2008·0.87 MB·English

Junior Coral Reef
Ambassador

Training Manual

Folkestone Marine Reserve
November 2008

The Folkestone Marine Reserve
The Folkestone Marine Reserve is located on the west coast of Barbados and occupies one
of the most heavily used marine spaces on the island. It is currently the only legislated
marine protected area in Barbados, occupying 2.2 km2. The area extends from the high
water mark and extends about 950 meters offshore at its widest point. It stretches from
the Coral Reef Club in the north to the south end of the Sandy Lane Hotel property in the
south. The area is comprised of patch, fringing and bank reefs on a mostly sand bottom.
The flora and fauna in the area are quite diverse. There are endangered hawksbill marine
turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) that nest on the beaches and the green turtles (Chelonia
mydas) can be seen foraging in the nearshore waters. The Holetown Lagoon area has
remnants of a mangrove stand, with the white mangrove (Laguncularia vacemosa) as the
most common.
Establishment of the reserve
The reserve was established in 1981 for the promotion of scientific use and also to provide
recreation for locals and visitors alike. It has been regulated by the Marine Areas
(Preservation & Enhancement) Act CAP 232A. The reserve is divided into four (4) zones
which have been designated for specific uses and thus have specific rules. The marine
reserve is currently being managed by the National Conservation Commission (NCC). The
NCC is a government organization, and one of its objectives is to develop a network of
protected areas, both marine and terrestrial.
Folkestone area history
Did you know that in 1625, English explorers landed in Holetown, which was then known as
Jamestown after King James 1 of England. The name was later changed to Holetown
because the shallow-draught ships could enter the river at this point, reminding the sailors
of the Hole in the River Thames.

Teachers and students along with the CERMES, CCA and the NCC (Folkestone Marine Reserve) have
worked together to design this training manual. We would like to recognize the following persons for
making this manual a reality.
Katherine Blackman, Research Hazeline Griffith, Teacher Rosalind Charlemagne, Teacher
Assistant, CERMES St. Albans Primary Alexandra Secondary
Maria Pena, Project Officer Shahida Hope, Student Aaron Forde, Teacher
CERMES St. Albans Primary Alexandra Secondary
Susan Mahon, Facilitator Pamela Small-Williams, Teacher Armand Piggot, Student
Future Centre Trust Erdiston Primary Alexandra Secondary
Andree Griffith, Executive Director Janelle Johnson, Teacher Drifa Mahdi, Student
Caribbean Conservation Association Erdiston Primary Alexandra Secondary
John Nicholls, Park Manager Danielle A. Gill, Student Elroy Payne, Teacher
Folkestone Park and Marine Reserve Erdiston Primary St. James Secondary
Patrick Williams, Park Naturalist Kadeem Pinder, Student James Moore, Student
Folkestone Park and Marine Reserve Erdiston Primary St. James Secondary
Donna King-Brathwaite, Environmental Andrea Phillips, Teacher Renata Goodridge, Senior Marine
Officer, Ministry of Environment St. James Primary and Lab Technician, CERMES
Nicole Garofano, Administrator Shertonia Clarke, Student
Counterpart Caribbean St. James Primary

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Who is a Park naturalist?
A park naturalist is someone who is employed by the National Conservation
Commission to take care of the marine reserve.

Who is a junior coral reef ambassador?
A Junior Coral Reef Ambassador is a caretaker
of the reef environment. The Ambassador This manual is about
learns as much as he/she can about the
what the Junior Coral
natural resources so that he/she can teach
Reef Ambassadors
others. Ambassadors look after their schools
and communities and make sure that they are need to know and
kept clean.
about what they need
to do.
Ambassadors learn about environmental laws
so they can help park naturalists enforce them
and so they can inform others. Ambassadors
share their knowledge of the environment to
promote conservational practices.
One thing that the Junior Coral Reef
Ambassadors need to do is
complete all of the activities
specified for their programme in
this manual. That is the first step to
becoming an Ambassador.

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The programme
The Junior Coral Reef Ambassador Programme has two streams: the basic stream is
targeted to the primary schools and the advanced stream is targeted to the
secondary schools. The full programme consists of four workshops:

Workshops
1. History of the watershed
Field trip to a gully (Welchman Hall Gully and Harrison’s Cave)

2. Wetlands Workshop
Field trip to Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary, Holetown Hole or Chancery Lane

3. Coral Reef, Seagrass and Mangroves Workshop
Field trip to the Folkestone Marine Reserve (glass bottom boat ride, snorkeling) and
sea turtle night watch

4. Marine Pollution and Waste management
Field trip to the sewage treatment plants on the island (Bridgetown Emmerton Plant
and/or the South Coast Sewerage Project Plant.

These workshops will be planned by the Reserve and the CERMES, University of the
West Indies and held at the Folkestone Marine Reserve Office on any specified
Saturday of the year.

Students must complete all the activities in the Junior Coral Reef Ambassador
Manual unless specified. The manual must be monitored, approved and signed by a
certified Junior Coral Reef Ambassador Trainer in order to be accepted as a
completed manual. Students shall carry an attendance card that must be signed by
the trainer as proof of attendance at the workshops during every phase of the
programme. All students must participate on projects for International Earth Day
and World Environment Day.

All students will receive a Folkestone Marine Reserve Junior Coral Reef Ambassador
button to wear during training and field trips. They will also receive a badge upon
completion of the programme and/or a Junior Coral Reef Ambassador Certificate.

Basic Junior Coral Reef Ambassador Programme
Students must attend one of the training workshops mentioned above during the
course of the year and write a report on one of the following field trip experiences.

Advanced Junior Coral Reef Ambassador Programme
Students must complete all field trips not yet completed under the Basic
Programme. After completing the workshops, students must assist a Trainer with at
least one of the workshops or field trips in the Basic Junior Coral Reef Ambassador
Programme. Students must complete swimming and snorkeling classes.
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Junior Coral Reef Ambassador Specialty Programme

Students will receive Specialty badges and/or certificates upon completion of each
programme.

Basic Programme

Administrative Management
Courses include five minimum days office experience at
the Folkestone Marine Reserve learning filing, faxing,
photocopying, and phone answering skills. Students will
have at least one lesson in computer skills. Students will
spend three days visiting schools and distributing
educational materials to both the schools and the public
regarding the reserve and its surrounding marine
environment.

Environmental Monitoring I
Course includes one day in a laboratory learning about the
types of equipment used for monitoring water quality.
Students must write a report.

Advanced Programme

Environmental Monitoring II
Course includes two days university laboratory
experience including: assisting in preparation of marine
samples for analysis, recording data and analyzing data;
two days water sampling field experience. Students must
write a project report.

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Junior Ranger Lifesaving (RLSS)
Students must be avid swimmers and undergo strict
training for a minimum of five days. Upon completion of
the course, students must demonstrate practical and
theoretical first aid and CPR skills and be well versed in
lifesaving procedures. Students must spend one-two days
with a lifeguard on one of Barbados’ beaches.

Marine Park Management
The course includes a minimum of five days of patrol with
Marine Park Rangers, review of Marine Park regulations
and relevant environmental laws. Students will interview
resource users e.g. beach users and dive operators, take a
one day tour of the Folkestone Marine Reserve, and write a
report. Students must prepare material to distribute to the
public informing them about the importance of Folkestone
Marine Reserve.

Eco-tour guide
Course includes tourism training by Ministry of Tourism.
Upon completion, students must be capable of
knowledgeably guiding a tour of primary school students
through the museum at the marine park, as well as on a
glass bottom boat, and around the Holetown hole.
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AMBASSADORS

need to know

…about their environment, how it works and what parts of it are especially
important.
…about environmental specially protected areas and other special areas around the
island.

Ambassador requirement:
Write the names of these special areas in Barbados on the map on the next page.
• Folkestone Marine Reserve • Harrison’s Cave
• Long Pond • St. Lawrence Lagoon
• Turner’s Hall Woods • Joe’s River Forest
• Graeme Hall Swamp • Coles Cave
• Chancery Lane Swamp • Drill Hall Beach
• Holetown Hole • Walkers Savannah
• Carlisle Bay Marine Park

AMBASSADORs NEED TO KNOW THE LAWS SUCH AS,

National Conservation Commission Act (1985)

This Act is used to protect the public parks, gardens, beaches and caves
of Barbados. Sites and buildings of national importance are conserved.
Persons can be fined if they remove any plants, animals or calcite
formations from caves, pollute the watershed in a cave or deposit waste
in a cave. Anyone caught doing so will be fined $500.00.
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MAP OF BARBADOS
Special Areas in Barbados

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AMBASSADORS

need to know

…..about the zones in the marine reserve and their uses. Ambassadors must know
the types of reefs and given names located within the boundaries of the Reserve.
….about the reason for developing marine reserves and their importance to our
island.
…about the laws that protect coral reefs, beaches and marine waters on the island.

Ambassador requirements:
The Folkestone Marine Reserve is divided into four zones. Use the map on the
following page to indicate the location of each zone in the marine reserve.

Do you know the rules for each zone? State the differences between the zones.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Name and locate at least 3 reefs within the Reserve. Indicate if the reefs are a
fringing reef, bank reef or patch reef.
(1)_____________________________
(2)_____________________________
(3)_____________________________

AMBASSADORs NEED TO KNOW THE LAWS SUCH AS,

Coastal Zone Management Act (1998)
This Act protects coral reefs and beaches areas all around the island.
People should not harvest or engage in the trade of any coral. Anyone
caught breaking a piece of coral will be fined $5000 or sent to prison for 2
years. People should not use any explosives or harmful substances to catch
fish or harvest coral. Anyone caught doing so will be charged $300 for
every square metre of coral damaged and/or sent to prison for 5 years. It
is also illegal for persons to remove sand or vegetation from the beach and
to dispose of garbage or waste on a beach or the foreshore.

Marine Pollution Control Act (1998)
This Act protects marine waters on all the coasts of Barbados. People
should not release or cause pollutants to be released into the environment.
Anyone caught doing so for the first time will be fined $200,000 or sent to
prison for 5 years or both. Less serious offences will result in a fine of
$100,000 or the person will be sentenced to 2 years in prison.
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